Delivering machine



Nov. 30 1926.

u. s. EsoYLE ET AL DELIVERING MACHINE Filedreb. 2o, 192e 3 Sheets-Shoe?I 1 A TTORNE Y U. S. BOYLE ET AL DELIVERING MACHINE Nov. 3o 192e. 1,605,718

Filed Feb. 20. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheei'I 2 H I t f/f ffl",

i Nov. 3o, 1926.

U. S. BOYLE ET AL DELIVERING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed. Feb. 20, 1926 IN VEN TORS- A TTORNE Y Patented Nov. 3o, 1926.

' UNITED 'STA TES PATENT OFFICE.

URBAN S. BOYLE AND WILLIAM C. HECKEROTH. OF ERIE,l PENNSYLVANIA.4

'DELIVERING MACHINE.

Application filed February 20. 1926. Serial No. 89.816.

This invention relates to delivery apparatus, and particularly to an apparatus adapted for use -in stores, altho it is capable of other uses to which it may be fitted.

In the embodiment illustrated hereinafter, the apparatus is particularly adapted for mixing coffee of various grades or kinds and delivering the same to a grinder, and from the grinder to a scale.

-of coffee of differentkinds. only one kind may be delivered if desired. The proportion of each kind. n a mixture is capable of modiication and control. Hence the invention .may be utilized in a larger apparatus, with .some modification, for blending of coifee as in coffee roasting plants: or for blending or mixing different materials in predetermined proportions.

The particular apparatus hereinafter described comprises an enclosed unit or unitary structure in which are assembled the containers. a pneumatic conveyor, a grinder and the scales. as well as a motor which serves to operate the grinder and also the fan of the pneumatic conveyor.

The scale controls an electric device which actsto release a cut-ofi valve when the desired amount of material is delivered to the scale. The operation is automatic in this respect.

The article as shown may be mounted on a counter in a store where the coitee or other 'material in thecontainers will be visible to the purchaser. i The containers are substantially air tight and by reason of the automatic control there is no delivery beyond the amount required. The invention avoids the loss incident to transferring coii'ee or vother materials irom'bins to scales by means ot' scoops and also effects a saving of time and labor, the operations of mixing` grinding. and weighing being performed in a continuous manner.

Other advantages will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation ot the machine Withparts of the casing in section. Fig. 2 is a section on the line A-A of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the electric valve control. Fig. 4 is a section on the line F14-E of. Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section on the line D--D of Fig. 4. Fig. Gis atop plan view ot the valves. Figs. 7 and 8 are top and side views of the top plate of the casing. Figs. 9 and 10 are top and Instead of mixture side viewsof a part of the conveyor pipe. Fig. 11 is a section on the line C-.-C of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail in side elevation of pipe. Fig. 13 is a detail of a part of Fig. .12. Figs. 1.4, 15 and 1G are details in top and side views of one of the valves. Fig. 17 isa plan of an outlet valve Jfor the escape of air from the air pipe or conveyor.

Referring specifically to the drawings. (l indicates a base casing or housing of proper size and shape to enclose some of the parts as hereinafter described and to support a plurality ot containers 7 adapted to hold the coffee or other material to be delivered. rThese, containers are closed at the top by removable caps 8, thru which they may be filled from time to time. The rront of the casing has an opening 9 to peri .it access to' the scales 10 and permit removal of thescale pan 11 to which the material is delivered from a grinder 19. of any suitable kind. This grinder is driven by a motor 13 mounted on a support 14 in the housing. rll`he inotor is controlled bya switch indicated at 15. The motoralso drives a rotary Jfan 16 the casing 17 of which discharges into a conveyor pip'e 18 which extends upwardly and' laterally and then downwardly to the grinder 12. for the pneumatic conveying of material delivered into the upper arm thereof from the containers. s

This upper arm 18a of the conveyor pipe is specially constructed, having a plurality of openings withA collars 19'around the same at the top of the upwardly extending enlargements 20 in the topv wall of the pipe. These collars receive the cut-oft' valves 21 which valves are set in recesses E22 in a top plate 23 housing and receiving the necks 24 of the hopp-er bottoms 25ct-the containers, whereby the containers are supported in position to deliver from the hop,- persto the valves. Each valve consists of a cylinder provided at the top with a rim 26v which rests on the top of collar 19, and, this rim has a segmental pinion 27. The lower end of the valve has at one side a plurality of holes 28 and at the other' side. an outlet 29. The neck 24 of the hopper projects down into the valve and is provided with a convex bottom 30 and with openings 32 at oppositel sides. The collar 19 has at onc'side a guide 33 :for a rack rod 34 which Vengages the gear mounted on the .one of the hoppcrs leading to the conveyor 27 and whichfextcnds thru an opening in the front plate of the housing and is provided with a handle 35 by which' it may be manipulated. The'conveyor tube 18, just beyond its elbow 1.8? is provided with an outlet 3G havirig aslide screen 37 with strainer holes 38 permitting the outlet of air and dust from the conveyortubc and allowingthe coffee carried by the air to follow the pipe down to the grinder l2.

The grinder delivers to the pan 11 of the scales. The scales are provided with a pointer 40 lwhich may be set to any desired amount, and with a movable pointer 41 which swings as the material is delivered into the sacle pan. These pointers have conductors 42 and 43 in the circuit indicated by the wires 44 and 45 with magnets 46 supported by a bracket 47 on the inside of the housing and having an armature 48 with a catch bar 49 engageable with teeth 50 on the under side of the valve rods 34. The catch bar 49 is carried by pivoted arms (S0 and is normally lifted by a spring 6l to engagement. with therack' bars. These rack bars are normally pulled back by the springs 52 connected hetween the rear lends thereof and the back wall of the housing. an'd each bar has a series of marks 34* to indicate the extent to which the respective valves areopened.

The, operation will now be understood: Assuming that five pounds of coffee or other .material are desired, composed of two pounds of one kind,"two poundsv of another kind and one pound of the remaining kind, therespective rods 34 are pulled out to appropriate distances. that is. two rods to a certain distance and one rod to half the distance. This turns the respective valves accordingly, and registers the openings 28, 29 and 32 accordingly. and the coffee is thus free to fiow out of eachcontainer in the same proportion. The motor is then started and the fan forces a blast of air thru the conveyor pipe which picks up the coffee and .blows the same thru the pipe and into the grinder which is then running. The air blast with the entrained dust escapes thru outlet 36 which may be connected with any suitable waste. The ground coffee flows from the grinder into the scale an, and when it reaches the desired weigh the contacts 42 and 43 close and actuate the magnets 46 which pull down the` .armature 48 and releasethe catch bar 49.

The .springs 52 then act to retractthe rods 34 and return thevalves to closed position with the openings 32 out of register with the openings`28 and 29.

The enlargements 20 and openings 28 have been referred to.v This construction has advantages. It will be found that by reason of the; enlargements the air flowsl upwardly thruvthe openings 28 and`v has the effect of agitating -the coffee or other material in the lnecks 24, thereby `insuring-fa free flow of material and also tending to assist the delivery of material from the neck thru the outlet opening 29.

It may be added that when the scale pan 1l is removed to place the ground material into a bag for delivery, the pointer 41 returns to its original position. This opens the circuit of the magnets and allows the catch bar 49 to return to its original position to engage the bars 34 when they are reset.

It is obvious thatby the means described mixtures of various kinds may be delivered from the containers, or if desired only one kind of material may be delivered, and the action continues until the desired quantity` is weighed, at which time thel flow will be stopped. If a refinement of weight is desired, incident to any small quantity which may remain in the conveyor pipe after the flow fromthe containers is stopped, it may be compensated by a predetermined propor- 'tion of one of the contact pieces. the contact piece 43, for example. being illustrated as somewhat larger on this account. Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.` Thus the number of con-- It may also be mentioned that un-y ground coffee may be delivered if desired. In this event, the grinder can be set so as not to grind, in a manner well known in the art,.and consequently the material delivered to the grinder will pass out without being ground. onto the scale pan.

We claim: y

1. The combination of a supporting bas;

a container mounted thereon. a pneumatic conveyor pipe` into which the container feeds, a grinder into which the, outlet end of the conveyor pipe discharges, a fanconnected to the opposite end of the pipe in` advance of the container. whereby the fan blast picks up the material fed into the pipe from the container and carries it to the grinder, and means to control the flow from the 'container to the conveyor pipe.

2. In an apparatus for mixing and grind-v ing materials, the combination of a base, a plurality of containers mounted on the base,

necting the fan and grinder and into which the containers respectively dlscharge between the fan and the grinder, and means 'a-fan, a grinder, a pneumatic conveyorconto separately control the ilow from each container to the conveyor.

3. The combination stated in claim 2, and a scale to which the lgrinder delivers, said means being automatically controlled b the scale to cut o the low when a pre'etermined weight is reached.

4. The combination of a hollow base, con- 'tainers mounted on the top thereof, a fan in the base, a grinder in the base, means to drive the fan and the grinder, a conveyor pipe extending from the fan to the grinder and adapted to receive material from the said containers between the fan and the grinder, and means to control the flow from each container to the conveyor pipe.

5. The combination stated in claim 4:, said means including electrically controlled valve 4operating devices actuated by the amount of material delivered from the grinder.

6. The combination of a hollow base, a plurality of containers mounted thereon and aving hopper bottoms with downwardly projecting necks, a fan in the base, a grinder in the base, means to drive the fan and the grinder, a conveyor pipe connecting the fan andthe grinder and having openings be tween the 'fan and the grinder thru which said necks project into the conveyorl ipe, and a valve controlling the discharge rom each neck into the pipe.

' 7. The combination stated in claim 6, each of said vaLves having an opening to admit air from the pipe into the neck and an openy ing to permit flow of material from the neck within the base and connecting the fan and the grinder, said containers opening into said pipe between the fan and the grinder, and valves between the respective containers and the conveyor pipe controlling the How thru said openings to the pipe.

tures,

URBAN S. .BOYLE WILLIAM C. HECKEROTH.

In testimony whereof, we aix our signa- 

